Dying Coals
by Lady of the Shade
Summary: Sequel to "The Fire and the Flame". Cato x Katniss story with them on the Victory Tour along with Peeta, Haymitch and Effie. What would happen?
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Alright, so this is Chapter One of the sequel to "The Fire and the Flame." I hope you enjoy it, let me know what you think!**

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The train sped along the track; alarmingly fast. However, since the gait was so smooth, the passengers inside the train hardly felt the movement at all. But that could also have been due to the fact that none of them were really paying attention.

"Young man, _what_ exactly are you doing in here?" a shrill voice screeched and after a moment's pause within which the speaker must have gotten a response, she was revealed to be Effie Trinket, who was furiously tottering away in her heels down the corridor of the train's compartments, off to find Haymitch. Laughter echoed behind her as the door of the room that she had just excited opened a bit more to reveal a blushing Katniss. A man's arms wrapped around her waist from behind as she stepped through the doorway.

"Does she really expect us not to see each other?" Katniss asked of the person who held onto her. "We are on the same train for a month."

In response, the young man bent his head down and kissed the side of her neck once.

"Be thankful she only saw us holding hands," Cato answered as Katniss blushed. The latter turned her head away from him to hide it.

"It's not like we've done anything more than that," she muttered. Cato continued to trail kisses across the silken skin of her throat and she shivered.

"Oh, did you forget the time I walked in on you two making out? Or where those two people a different Katniss and Cato?" a voice called and the couple turned to see Haymitch walk into the room, looking completely sober. He wagged a finger at them, pretending to be disapproving, but there was spark of amusement in his eyes. Cato smirked and Katniss' blush deepened.

"You saw nothing," she said to her mentor, a smile growing upon her face.

"Correction: I saw more than I wanted to," was Haymitch's reply as he poured some cordial from a glass tumbler into a goblet also made of glass.

Cato snickered and Katniss turned in his arms to hide her face from Haymitch in his chest, pleasantly embarrassed.

"Don't feel bad, sweetheart," Haymitch reassured, walking up to them and putting a hand out to rest on her right shoulder. He turned her back around to face him. "If I were in your position, and I have been, I would want that kind of companionship." Here, he winked. "Then I might not be such a bitter, old man."

"You're not bitter and you're not _that_ old," Cato joked. "You're as old as my father, give or take a century." He ducked down behind Katniss when Haymitch threw a mock punch at him in response.

"I may be ancient, but I still have my fighting blood," Haymitch said with a smile when he relaxed. "Never forget that." The mentor sighed and then looked around the train car, frowning when he noticed something was out of place.

"Where's Peeta?" he asked of the other two tributes. Cato and Katniss shook their heads in unison. This whole car was supposed to belong to Katniss, it didn't make sense for Peeta to be in here.

"Have you checked his own private cars?" Katniss queried, stepping slightly towards Haymitch.

"Well, that's where I was heading before Effie found me, shrieking that you two-" Here, he pointed a large finger in between Cato and Katniss. "-were performing all sorts of debauchery."

"Debauchery is a _big_ word for you, old timer," Cato teased and Haymitch winked.

"We weren't 'performing debauchery,'" Katniss interjected, feeling the need to come to her own defense. "We were sitting on my bed, talking and holding hands."

At her words, Haymitch chuckled, his long grey hair swinging forwards into his face.

"Is that all?" he asked with a snort as he brushed his hair back behind his ear. "She made it sound like you were in the middle of an adult-rated movie."

"Well, we weren't," Katniss insisted just as Cato whispered "I wish," in her ear. She nudged him in the ribs. "Shut up," she whispered back but an amused smile was on her face.

"Well, I'll be off to find him then," Haymitch said and he patted Katniss' cheek affectionately. "Take care until dinner, sweetheart." Her mentor then nodded to Cato and departed from the bedroom/living room car that belonged to Katniss for as long as she was using it for the Victory Tour.

The two tributes stayed standing in the same position for a while, relishing in each other's closeness and the silence that an empty train car provided them. Katniss' was the only car where some type of music wasn't playing over a set of well-hidden speakers that were hidden in the ceiling.

After a few more moments, Katniss sighed and relaxed completely into Cato's embrace. She still didn't know how Peeta was truly handling the idea of her and Cato being together out of the public eye. But they would stopping at District 12 soon, their old home. What would everyone else think about the 'star-crossed lovers' relationship? She could only hope that people saw through the fraud and could accept her and Cato for what they were: a couple.

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**A/N: So, what did you think? I didn't want to make it **_**too**_** long. Please review and may the odds be ever in your favour!**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: I am so sorry that I haven't updated in so long but to be honest, I have completely lost my muse. I promise that once summer rolls around, updates will be much more frequent. Anyway…**

Katniss and Peeta walked out onto the stage in front of District 12, holding hands. Each held baited breaths as the crowd cheered. Katniss could pick out Gale and Prim easily; she was sitting on top of his shoulders, her smile as bright as the sun. She waved and Katniss waved back with her free hand, loving how both Gale and Prim lit up when she acknowledged them. The rest of the citizens of 12 were cheering either her's or Peeta's name and Katniss could make out Greasy Sae directing two young boys where to place a bowl of stew on a table at the back of the square. Clearly, she had been cooking up a feast for everyone, as the table expanded the whole length of the square and was full. Peeta grinned as his mother and father waved from behind the table; they had just placed an elaborate cake at the center, words of congratulations iced onto every tier.

"Our victors: Peeta Mellark and Katniss Everdeen," a voice boomed over a loudspeaker. It sounded like the voice of President Snow and Katniss was reminded of how the President hated her and Peeta. She shivered and Peeta squeezed her hand in reassurance. Then, their smiles grew as the crowd went wild. Flowers were being thrown up onto the stage, girls were asking Peeta if they could go on a date once he came back from the Victor's tour, it was pandemonium.

And then Cato stepped out onto the stage.

"Our third victor: Cato Williams," the voice boomed as the citizens of District 12 fell silent. There was a pregnant pause in which they all blinked up at the stage and then it was filled with whispers. Some were talking of Cato's "death," others were voicing their speculations about Katniss and Cato. Katniss watched Cato suck in a breath, steeling himself. He wasn't used to being judged by an entire group of people in a negative way.

"Cato, come here," she beckoned softly and her voice rang out over the crowd. It fell silent again as Cato stepped forwards and took her free hand. Then, the three tributes turned to face District 12.

"Cato, how did you survive?" a voice called, breaking the tension. Cato stiffened and Katniss stroked the back of his hand with her thumb.

"I was saved," he replied and that was all he said on the matter. But it didn't seem to satisfy the crowd, who pressed forwards to the edge of the stage, demanding on how he had "come back from the dead" and wanting to know what exactly was going on between him and Katniss. The three victors backed away from the edge, becoming unnerved. Katniss looked out into the crowd and met Gale's eyes with her own. She watched him look from her to the joined hands of her and the brutal victor and then back to her before he arched a brow. Katniss glared back. How dare he!

Effie tottered forwards to stand before the microphone that had been placed in front of the victors and tapped on its metallic surface. She, with her frosted mint green wig and lips, looked almost austere and definitely out of place, as always, with the people of District 12.

"Is there something you would like to say?" she asked the tributes, raising an eyebrow. Both Katniss and Cato shook their heads slowly but Peeta nodded and stepped forward. The crowd smiled and waited to hear what he would say as he raised the microphone so that he could speak into it.

"Hey, everyone," Peeta greeted and the people of District 12 responded, instantly worked over by Peeta. A few bold girls waved and screamed in joy when Peeta waved back.

"Okay… so, as you can probably tell, we are the victors," Peeta began and everyone chuckled. "And that is really great. But I have to tell you something and I think, judging by your reactions when Cato walked out, that you guys have some speculation about this already."

Here, all three victors took a deep breath and readied themselves.

"Katniss and I are not star-crossed lovers, and we never have been. It was our- my hook in the beginning so that we could get sponsors. And even though it's true that I love her and she loves me, it's more as friends or a brother-sister relationship. Her heart truly belongs to Cato."

Katniss felt her heart stop and Cato squeezed her hand as the crowd began to shout profanities and blasphemies up at the stage. They called Katniss a traitor, reminded her that he had tried to kill Peeta and her, that he was heartless etc.

"I support them because I know what they've been through, since I went through it with them. Being in that arena changes you. You become more vulnerable in every single way possible. You sometimes even want to fight those who are closest to you." Here, he looked at Katniss and she gave him a soft smile. "But then you realize that you need them. And Cato needs Katniss."

"It's true," Cato broke in and all eyes turned to look at him. "I do. I need her more than I need water, or air, or sunlight."

"But what about Clove?" a voice questioned and Katniss looked to see one of Prim's friends at the edge of the stage, who glared up questioningly at the vicious tribute. Cato sighed.

"She was my best friend, and I hated that she had to die. But if it was either her or Katniss, I have to choose the person that I know I can't live without. And that is Katniss."

The crowd broke out in uproar, clearly displeased by what was going on. Effie stepped behind the three victors, clearly afraid, while Haymitch came to stand in front of them and began to usher them off the stage and down the back steps.

"Well, that went well," he said sarcastically. He wasn't met with anything though, as Katniss was gripping Cato's hand with fear and Peeta was leading them back to the train while Effie clutched onto Haymitch's arm. "We're heading back to the train, we are not staying overnight and we will most certainly not be back after the Victor's tour if they don't smarten up and open their eyes."

"It's not like that was welcome news," Cato said quietly. "It doesn't matter to them if I love her, does it?"

The roars of the crowd picked up as if on cue and Katniss bit her lip to stop tears from flowing. She hoped Prim wasn't too mad at her, or that Gale wasn't heartbroken. She had always assumed how he felt and she swore that she would do her best to make it up to him.

"Can we just get onto the train please?" she begged quietly and the rest of her little group were eager to respond to her request.

**A/N: Let me know if you were okay with how this chapter went down, I can rewrite it if you want to read something else. Sorry again for the really super slow updating. I love you all, please review and may the odds be ever in your favour!**


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